


The Grasshopper

by multifandomgeek



Series: lifetime of promises and a world of dreams [6]
Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Established Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Kidfic, Lesbian AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-18 10:08:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21274433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/multifandomgeek/pseuds/multifandomgeek
Summary: Bee and Bug want a dog, and they prepared a whole presentation to convince their mothers that it will be the best decision ever to get them one.
Relationships: Brooke Lynn Hytes/Vanessa Vanjie Mateo
Series: lifetime of promises and a world of dreams [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1431853
Comments: 33
Kudos: 58





	The Grasshopper

**Author's Note:**

  * For [holtzmanns](https://archiveofourown.org/users/holtzmanns/gifts).

> for Nadia, the bestest person ever, and Bug's biggest fan <3
> 
> thank you so much writ for betaing!

_Bee is 13 years old. Bug is 7 years old_

“Mommy, are you done with your shower yet?” asked Bug’s suspiciously sweet voice through the bathroom door.

“Baby, that’s the 5th time you’ve asked, I’ll be out when I’m out!” _goddamit_, added Brooke in thought. She couldn’t remember the time when she could take a shower in peace anymore, and every time she thought the kids were big enough to cut her some slack, she was proved wrong.

Brooke brushed her hair for a little longer than necessary before leaving the steamy bathroom. Was she bearing resentment for a 7-year-old? Maybe. She took a deep breath before she left, though, dissipating her annoyance so as not to take it out on her little girl any further. She was a good mother. Right.

“Ugh, finally,” groaned Bee, who was sitting on the bed, apparently also waiting for her. Bug had been jumping on the mattress, but quickly sat down and put up a cute smile, as if Brooke hadn’t seen.

Brooke raised her eyebrows at both of them. “What’s the rush? Is something on fire?”

The girls grabbed her by each hand and pulled her out of the bedroom towards the living room. “Mommy, did you know you’re very pretty?” said Bug.

“What did you do?” asked Brooke immediately.

“Nothing!” said Bee quickly. “We didn’t do anything, we just like to compliment you.”

Brooke squinted at them as she was placed on the couch, right next to Vanessa who was under a fluffy blanket, despite it not being cold. Brooke gave her a questioning look.

“I don’t know either, but Bee did the dishes without me having to ask,” said Vanessa with a shrug. “I ain’t complaining.”

“Are you covering for something your sister did?” Brooke pointed an accusing finger at Bee, who raised her hands in surrender.

“Why does it always have to be me?” asked Bug, outraged.

“Are you sure you want to ask that question?” responded Vanessa pursing her lips, and Bug stayed quiet.

“What do you want then?” said Brooke, and it seemed to be spot on as Bee quickly fumbled with something on her phone and turned on the TV to show a… PowerPoint Presentation?

Bug jumped on the coffee table. “It’s not something for us, it’s something for the whooole family!” She had clearly rehearsed this, opening her arms theatrically as she extended the vowels in ‘whole’.

“Jesus Christ,” sighed Brooke, scooching closer to her wife. Vanessa was holding back a chuckle, kicking away the blankets that the girls probably placed over her trying to earn some good points.

“Get down from the table,” scolded Vanessa, and Bug swiftly jumped to the floor, her smile unfaltering.

Bee pressed something on the remote and the title of the presentation sprung on the TV screen. How the hell was she doing that?

“No!” said Vanessa before Brooke even finished reading it.

“Why we should have a dog,” read Bee robotically, clicking to the next slide of several pictures of cute puppies.

“Dogs are super cute!” said Bug, opening her arms again. The two of them working together like this was so adorable Brooke wanted to film it. She couldn’t give in though, she had to remain unaffected. The next slide was a list of chores, in bullet points with a cute puppy on the side (you know, for emotional effect).

“I can take care of a lot of things now that I’m big enough,” said Bee, pointing at the list as she read. “I can walk him twice a day, make sure he has food and water, and even give him baths!”

“It’s not going to be a male dog,” said Brooke with some confusion.

“No! It’s not gonna be any dog of any gender!” said Vanessa, arms crossed in front of her chest. Brooke wrapped an arm around her.

“And I can help!” said Bug, excited.

“With supervision!” Bee chimed in quickly, trying to save it. “You don’t even have to see it if you don’t want to, we’ll take care of everything.”

“What about the hairs all over our furniture, huh?” said Vanessa, annoyed. “Are you going to pick up the vacuum without me having to yell at you? What if it destroys our curtains? What if it gets sick, who’s gonna take it to the vet, miss responsibility? And do you think we’re a cash machine to have another mouth to feed in this house? Absolutely not!”

Bee passed over some slides, landing on another bulleted list, this time with a photoshopped picture of Vanessa smiling with a baby golden retriever in her arms. The list had everything Vanessa had just said, plus a few other topics. Brooke held back a snort.

“Did you make this, honeybee?” asked Brooke. “It’s very impressive.”

“Don’t encourage her,” murmured Vanessa, swatting her stomach.

“What? I didn’t know she could use photoshop already,” said Brooke, defending herself. “That’s a useful skill.”

Vanessa looked at Bee, pondering for a minute. “It really is, baby, I’m very proud of you,” she conceded. “But it’s still a no.”

“Okay, so, for the hair, there are dogs that don’t shed any hair at all, and I can train him not to jump on any furniture or ruin anything,” continued Bee, unfazed.

Brooke really scoffed this time. “We thought we could do that too,” she murmured quietly to Vanessa, who stiffed her laughter.

As if to prove her mother’s point, Bug jumped on the table again. “Yeah, it’s gonna be a very good dog!”

“Bug, do you want to be grounded instead of just disappointed?” threatened Vanessa. “Get down from the damn table.”

“I’m sure you still have a lot to say about it,” said Brooke, sighing and getting up to kiss her daughters’ heads one at a time. “But I’m sorry, it’s always going to be a no.”

“But mom!” whined Bee.

“You’re mean,” pouted Bug, crossing her arms in a remarkable impersonation of her own mother. “You’re two mean, mean ladies.”

“Why don’t we go out for ice cream or something, huh?” said Vanessa getting up to hug Bee while Brooke picked Bug up, somehow against the little girl's will (but she hugged Brooke’s neck once she was in her lap).

“Can I have the biggest one?” asked Bug, sounding even whinier and with a dramatic pout on her lips.

Brooke chuckled and shook her head. “Yes, baby, you can both have the biggest ones,” she caved, kissing Bug’s cheek. Not that the blatant emotional blackmail worked, they just deserved it.

\--

Bug seemed to have forgotten about the dog thing pretty quickly, but Bee brought it up every chance she got. She was clearly upset about being interrupted, and was adamant about laying every argument she prepared on her moms no matter what. Brooke was getting fed up with it.

“Bee, listen to me,” she snapped one morning while taking Bee to school on her way to work. Being trapped in a car, she had to listen all about dog breeds for the best part of fifteen minutes already. “When your Mamá says no, it’s no. I got no power to change her mind, believe me, I’ve tried several times before and failed. Your efforts are wasted on me.” _So shut up, for the love of god!_

“So if she says yes, that means you’re okay with it?” responded Bee with a big smile.

“What? That’s not what I said-”

“Thank you, Mommy!” Bee gave her a smacking kiss on the cheek before she got out of the car in front of her school.

“Shit.” murmured Brooke to herself, already predicting a fight when she got home that night.

\--

When Brooke got home, Vanessa was waiting for her with crossed arms and pursed lips. The blonde smiled sheepishly at her, giving her a kiss even with the dangerous energy she was giving off.

"I was thinking we could order sushi for dinner, what do you think, baby?" said Brooke extra sweetly while Vanessa stared daggers at her.

"Wanna see what your daughter did?" said Vanessa pointedly.

_When it's ‘my daughter,’ it really can't be good._ "Which one?" asked Brooke.

But Vanessa didn't answer, she just walked to their backyard, Brooke on tow. There, rolling around in the grass was Bug and, surprisingly, a small black dog. Apparently, she was trying to teach the little thing how to roll by showing it how it's done.

"Where's Bee?" asked Brooke. This was obviously the older girl's doing, after twisting Brooke’s words to fit with her wants.

"She's at the movies with her friends," said Vanessa. "But you ain't escaping that conversation either, mama. This is just a more pressing matter, let's say."

Brooke swallowed. "Hm, what am I supposed to do here?”

“I don’t fucking know,” exclaimed Vanessa in a strained whisper. “I can’t very well throw it out or anything. She won’t tell me where it came from, it doesn't have a collar. Do something!”

“Did you ask her?”

Vanessa took a dangerous deep breath and pressed the space between her eyes. “Brooke, I swear to god.”

“Right.” Brooke walked over to where Bug and the dog were playing, eager to be out of Vanessa’s reach just in case she suddenly decided to strangle her.

“Bug, baby, whose dog is this?” asked Brooke, crouching next to her daughter and trying her best to not sound mad.

“Our dog, Mommy,” said Bug matter-of-factly, still laying on the grass. Her bathwater would be positively brown today, but that wasn’t important right now.

“We don’t have a dog, sweetie,” responded Brooke, hanging tightly to her patience. “Where did it come from?”

“I don’t know, do dogs lay eggs? He probably came from his momma.”

Brooke sighed, holding her patience like a wet bar of soap at the moment. “Nora, look at me.” She changed her tone, turning serious and catching Bug’s attention. Brooke never called her by her name, that was more of a Vanessa thing. “Where did you get this dog?”

“He was lost, Mommy!” said Bug. She looked scared, and Brooke really hated to be the one putting that look on her baby’s face, but she had no choice right now. “I was playing at school, waiting for Mamá, and I found him.”

“Did you take his collar off?”

Bug started to cry.

“Go get it,” ordered Brooke, her heart broken to pieces.

Bug ran to the house, the dog following, but Vanessa stopped it before it could go inside.

“Stop licking me, I’m not petting you,” said Vanessa, and Brooke couldn’t tell if she was annoyed or amused.

“Why can’t we have a dog?” asked Brooke quietly. She hated making her kids cry, it was against the very core of her being.

“Come on,” said Vanessa softly, holding the dog away from the door with her foot. “You know we’re going to be the ones taking care of it. Especially me!”

“I never had a dog when I was a kid,” said Brooke. She was about to cry.

“Baby-” Vanessa was going to tell her why they couldn’t do it, Brooke knew and she didn’t need the reinforcement, so she interrupted her.

“I just want to make them happy,” she whispered, her heart breaking all over again as Bug came out with a collar on her hand, crying so hard there was snot all over her face.

\--

That night they made love gently. They had sex often enough, but love-making like that was rare. They couldn’t plan it or schedule it; it was raw and emotional, born of a love so big it had to come out in some way, it demanded to be expressed. That night, the outpouring of love came from Vanessa first, Brooke following to fall and feel exposed and open in the best way, in the safe and protected way.

Mornings after a night like this were clingy, filled with kisses and sweet whispers and giggles. Brooke felt like living inside Vanessa’s arms, and it always pained her to go to work after such perfect moments. Today, luckily, was the weekend, so she could remain in her lover’s embrace for as long as she wanted. Or, more likely, for as long as the kids let them.

Vanessa put some cartoons on TV so they could have a peaceful breakfast. Bug was eating strawberries while hypnotized by it, Bee was still asleep, and the two of them were at the table, staring at each other like they were falling in love all over again.

“What do you want to do today?” asked Brooke, her chin resting on her hand while she played with Vanessa’s hair.

Vanessa sighed. “I think we should get a damn dog,” she said quietly.

“Really?” Brooke dropped her hand, wide-eyed. She quickly looked around to see if any kid heard them. “Baby, you don’t have to. I was upset about having to scold Bug, but it’s fine, really. They’ll get over it.”

It turned out the dog really was lost, but it had an owner and Bug just thought it would be happier at their home than its own. Brooke didn’t really get the logic, but then again, she was seven.

“I wanna make them happy too,” said Vanessa, caressing Brooke’s face.

“I know, honey, and you do! You’re a great mother, the best mother, this doesn’t mean anything.”

“I had dogs when I was a kid,” said Vanessa, still being quiet. She didn’t elaborate. “I just don’t want a puppy. Let’s get an adult dog who already knows where to pee and doesn’t want to chew everything in sight.”

“I love you so much.” Brooke kissed her, and would keep doing it forever had Bug not made a disgusted noise at them, making them chuckle.

\--

Bee cried the whole time, even before they got to the shelter to choose a dog. Bug wanted a giant beast that looked like a crossbreed between a rottweiler and the devil itself. Bee couldn’t choose anything that wasn’t a puppy, while Brooke remained away, playing with the cats through their cages. In the end, they all went with Vanessa’s pick.

The small cocker was in the back seat, licking Bee’s face while she kept crying and laughing. It was white and brown, cute as hell and looking like a chill kind of guy. Brooke was already in love with him and, to everybody’s surprise, so seemed Vanessa.

“I wanna call him Donkey!” proclaimed Bug happily. She had been screaming possible names for dogs all day, mostly related to her favorite movies.

“He already has a name, bugzie,” said Vanessa from her place on the wheel.

“But Riley is a boring name!” pouted Bug.

“You can give him a nickname,” said Brooke, turning on her seat to watch Bee still being attacked with dog kisses. “You have to choose one though, or he’ll get confused.”

“Maybe another insect?” suggested Vanessa.

“Oh, I know, cockroach!” said Bug. “‘Cause he’s a cocker, right?”

“Ew,” said Bee. “Cockroaches are disgusting. And it’s too big to be a nickname.”

“Just cock then,” said Bug, simply.

“No!” exclaimed Vanessa and Brooke at the same time while Bee exploded in laughter.

“How about cricket?” suggested Brooke, trying to avoid any follow-up questions. “Or grasshopper?”

“Grasshopper is cool, like the Karate Kid thing,” said Vanessa, pulling up in front of their house.

“I never really liked that movie,” said Brooke casually, getting out of the car and opening the trunk to get the insane amount of supplies they managed to buy at the pet store.

“Come on, Riley, let’s get away from these crazy people,” said Vanessa pulling the dog by the leash with an adorable smile on her face.

“We decided to call him Grasshopper, Mamá,” said Bee, following them, not a single soul staying behind to help Brooke.

“I’ll call my dog whatever I want,” Brooke heard Vanessa saying before they were out of earshot.

If Vanessa ended up to be the one spoiling Riley the most, Brooke decided not to comment on it. She didn’t even mind if he decided to sleep with them instead of with the girls every now and then. As for Brooke herself, it was nice having someone run to her every time she got home once again, now that the girls were too big to be all that excited about her anymore. And all the laughter and extra time outdoors really made up for everything else, like Bee reclaiming her right to be lazy again. All in all, it had been a good decision.

Who knows, maybe she would even convince Vanessa to get a cat or two one of these days.


End file.
